Triceps support garment

ABSTRACT

A sleeveless garment or undergarment has elasticized sleeves affixed to arm openings of the sleeveless garment or undergarment.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/178,812, filed Apr. 21, 2015, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to clothing, and more particularly, to a garment having an integrated sleeve that supports and hides sagging triceps muscles.

BACKGROUND

There are more than 75 million “baby boomers” in the United States over the age of 55, and half of those are women. Further, many of these women suffer from unsightly flabby and sagging arms due to effects of aging skin, or due to medical issues such as burns or bruising, or from atrophy, which often occurs in breast cancer survivors.

The triceps are the large muscles located on the back of the upper arm, and these muscles tend to lose tone and definition over time since the triceps are not regularly worked in routine day-to-day activities. Also, a significant loss of weight without corresponding exercise can lead to saggy triceps.

Women tend to avoid wearing clothing that reveals their unsightly arms and triceps muscles, such as sleeveless tops and sun dresses, because they do not like the way their arms look in such clothing. While exercise and a sound diet can often address some of these issues, many women do not make that effort. Thus, it would be desirable if there were a way to support and/or hide their arms and triceps muscles even in sleeveless clothing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a sleeveless garment having elasticized sleeves attached to the garment.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a bra having elasticized sleeves attached to the bra.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a garment 100 designed to provide aesthetic covering of unsightly arms as well as functional triceps support. The garment 100 includes a torso portion 120 having a pair of arm openings 122 for the wearer's left and right arms, where the arm openings are defined by shoulder straps 123 on each side of the garment that extend from the front of the torso portion, over the shoulder, to the rear of the torso portion. A pair of sleeve portions 140 are affixed to the arm openings 122 of the torso portion 120, for example, by sewing a seam 141, preferably on the inside of the garment, where each sleeve portion is sewn to a respective shoulder strap 123 at each arm opening. Domestic and industrial sewing methods are well-known and need not be discussed herein in any detail.

The torso portion 120 can be any sleeveless garment, such as a tank top, sleeveless dress, or vest, for example. The torso portion 120 may be made of a cotton fabric, a synthetic fabric, a blend of cotton and one or more synthetic fabrics, or any other suitable fabric.

The sleeve portions 140 are elasticized and therefore made from one or more synthetic fabrics, wherein at least one of the synthetic fabrics has significant elasticity, such as spandex. In one example, the sleeve portions 140 are made from a combination of nylon and spandex, similar to most pantyhose. In one specific embodiment, the sleeve portions 140 are constructed from 85% nylon and 15% spandex.

The sleeve portions 140 are made to be sheer, that is, having a very thin or transparent texture. Further, the synthetic fabrics that make up the sleeve portions 140 can be manufactured with a color to resemble a skin tone. For example, the sleeves could be manufactured in a number of different color shades, such as pale, tan, bronze, cocoa and black.

By providing elasticized sleeve portions 140, the wearer of the garment 100 will have support for sagging or flabby triceps muscles. Further, by providing skin tone colored sleeves, the sleeves will appear natural and will hide blemishes, bruising, burns, or any unsightly skin condition of the arms.

The sleeve portions 140 can also include a wrist band portion 142 having an elastic finish so that the sleeve stays put along the entire arm of the wearer. Domestic and industrial techniques for finishing the sleeve portions 140 are well-known.

FIG. 2 illustrates a second embodiment of a garment 200 designed to provide aesthetic covering of unsightly arms as well as functional triceps support in an outer under garment. In this embodiment, the torso portion 220 is implemented as a bra having bra straps 223 that define arm openings 222. The bra 220 will typically include a pair of breast cups 221 having a concave shape.

Of course, bras come in many shapes and sizes to accommodate women and breasts of different sizes, but in general have in common the features of the bra 220 shown in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, the bra 220 is formed of an elasticized fabric, such as nylon and spandex, or other suitable materials. In one specific embodiment, the bra is made of 90-96% nylon and 4-10% spandex. For example, Hanes makes a variety of sports bras that are suitable for this application.

The sleeve portions 240 are the same as described above with reference to FIG. 1, that is, they are elasticized and made from one or more synthetic fabrics, wherein at least one of the synthetic fabrics has significant elasticity, such as spandex. In one embodiment, the sleeve portions 240 are made of 85% nylon and 15% spandex. As in FIG. 1, the sleeve portions 240 are sheer, and can be made to have a skin tone color. Further, an elasticized wrist band portion 242 can be provided so that the sleeve stays put along the entire arm of the wearer. The sleeve portion 240 is sewn to the arm openings 222 of the bra 220 at seam 241 using known methods, preferably on the inside of the straps 223.

One method for manufacturing a garment or undergarment as described herein includes providing an existing sleeveless garment or undergarment that has shoulder straps, and then sewing a pair of elasticized sleeves to the shoulder straps, preferably to the underside of the straps. The sleeves are made as described above and could be offered in different arm lengths. In a prototype, Hanes pantyhose were cut and used for the sleeve portions.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that there are a number of ways to implement the principles described herein, and thus, the description is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements. 

1. A garment, comprising: an article of clothing to be worn on at least an upper torso of a user, the article having a pair of first openings for arms and a second opening for head and neck; and a pair of sleeves each having an elastic characteristic, each sleeve affixed to a respective one of the first openings on the article of clothing.
 2. The garment of claim 1, wherein each sleeve is affixed to the first arm opening by a sewn seam.
 3. The garment of claim 1, wherein the article of clothing has a pair of shoulder straps that define the pair of first openings, and wherein each sleeve is affixed to a respective shoulder strap.
 4. The garment of claim 1, wherein each sleeve has a hem at a wrist portion of the sleeve.
 5. The garment of claim 4, wherein each wrist portion includes an elastic finish.
 6. The garment of claim 1, wherein the article of clothing is an undergarment.
 7. The garment of claim 6, wherein the undergarment is a bra.
 8. The garment of claim 1, wherein the sleeves are made from nylon and spandex.
 9. The garment of claim 1, wherein the sleeves have a skin tone color.
 10. A garment, comprising: a bra having a pair of arm openings for the wearer's arms; and a pair of sleeves, each sleeve affixed at a first end thereof to a respective arm opening of the bra, each sleeve formed of a material having an elastic characteristic.
 11. The garment of claim 10, wherein the bra includes a pair of shoulder straps that define the pair of arm openings, and wherein each sleeve is affixed to a respective shoulder strap.
 12. The garment of claim 10, wherein each sleeve has a hem at a wrist portion of the sleeve.
 13. The garment of claim 12, wherein each wrist portion includes an elastic finish.
 14. The garment of claim 10, wherein the sleeves are made from nylon and spandex.
 15. The garment of claim 10, wherein the sleeves have a skin tone color.
 16. A method, comprising: affixing a pair of sleeves to respective arm openings of a sleeveless garment, wherein the sleeves are formed of a material having an elastic characteristic.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the material is a combination of nylon and spandex.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the garment is an undergarment.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the undergarment is a bra. 